"There’s not much to be gained by changing things up" - Ramiz Raja opposes the splitting of Babar Azam-Mohammad Rizwan opening combination in T20Is
The former chairperson of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) believes the side should not break up the opening combination of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in T20Is.
With the T20 World Cup set to be played in June, Pakistan will play a marquee five-match T20I series in New Zealand starting January 12. As per reports dominating the pre-series headlines, youngster Saim Ayub is likely to partner Rizwan at the top of the order, moving Babar to his ODI position of No.3.
Speaking to CricWick, Raja felt splitting up the duo provides no substantial gain for Pakistan.
"I wouldn’t agree [with the decision of splitting Babar and Rizwan]. Pundits across the international fraternity take the name of Babar and Rizwan together as an opening pair. That’s because we have been consistent. From the pool we had available, we picked these two. If you are averaging 40-45 with a strike rate of 128-130, and you’re providing starts, and are fighting it out in the big games, I believe there’s not much to be gained by changing things up," said Raja.
Babar and Rizwan have been the most prolific opening pair in T20I history, with 2400 runs. However, the pair are among the bottom feeders in scoring rates among T20I openers.
Meanwhile, Ayub has been a revelation over the past few months, with outstanding performances in the PSL and the CPL last year.
The 21-year-old was the second-leading scorer in the CPL, with 478 runs at an average of 43.45 and a strike rate of 142.26. His heroics helped Guyana Warriors clinch the title for the first time in CPL history.
"You can’t go into a World Cup in an experimental stage" - Ramiz Raja
Ramiz Raja cautioned Pakistan against making too many changes heading into the T20 World Cup at the West Indies and U.S.A.
Despite not tasting ultimate glory in T20 World Cups since the 2009 edition, the Men in Green have impressed over the last two tournaments. Pakistan lost a thriller to Australia in the semi-final of the 2021 World Cup and suffered a defeat in the final of the previous edition in 2022.
"You can’t go into a World Cup in an experimental stage, particularly if you don’t have options. If you have created options, then great. I still believe big teams have a solid opening pair, a solid wicketkeeper, and a solid opening bowling pair," said Raja.
He added:
"In 2021, we won all the ICC awards – the T20 player of the year (Mohammad Rizwan), the [men’s] Cricketer of the Year Shaheen Afridi. So my point is, please stick with these players a bit more. If they were on top of the world then, why can’t they do it now? This is a ‘handle with care’ phase we are going through. I don’t know how long this board will remain, what will happen to the players after that, how long this management remains."
The New Zealand series will be newly appointed T20I skipper Shaheen Afridi's first assignment in the role. Pakistan are coming off a horrendous tour of Australia, suffering a Test series whitewash 3-0.